The lovely diyadear has tagged me to write on 8 favorite things about summer. Truthfully, I am not a summer person (shocking, isn't it?), I am more a Fall person, but having said that, there are several things I love about the lemonade season:

1. The longer days: Being a day person ( I always prefer the sunrise to the sunset...there's something rather sad about a sunset, don't you think?) I love the extra hours of daylight...I feel like I get so much more accomplished in my day.

2. I love that the rose bushes are in full bloom! After the lotusflower, the rose is my favorite and I have a ton of them around our front lawn, they exude the most delicious fragrance ever...especially our English tea rose.

3. I love hearing the happy cries of children in their pools and the squeals of delight as they play basketball in their front yards and the birds twittering...summer is full of happy sounds...wish I could capture them on my mp3 player to listen to in the winter.

4. I love eating alfresco at my favorite cafes, watching the world go by as we sip our coffee or dig into our pastas.

5. I love seeing my neighbors come out of hibernation after 4 long months...it's always nice to discuss who has put on weight, who has grown a beard, and how Sally went from a brunette to a platinum blonde. Bet they discuss me too! :)

6. Love being able to wear flipflops and show off my new pedicure! ;)

7. Love the free concerts all over Toronto...man, come July and we are so spoiled for choice, seems like every park is vying with the other for who can put on the best show! Ofcourse, the Harbourfrontwins every time. A couple of years ago I saw Lila Downs, Youssou N'Dour and Autorickshaw perform there and all for free!!!

8. The best part about summer, however, is to feel the sun kiss my face, arms and shoulders...wish I could remember to slap on the SPF sun screen though!

If you would like to tell us your favorite things about summer feel free to go ahead...you can either use the comments section or write up your own post!

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comments:

Lotus.. so we know a bit more about what you like about summer now, Thanks!. :)Incidentally fall is my fave season too, esp with the leaves turning and the crisp fall air and the sun feels different too.

Summer is not a season I like, maybe I would if it was less humid. Yay for the longer days, it lets me get more done too and yes there is a beauty to the sadness of a sunset no?Agree about the kids being out and all the sounds that you describe.

The concerts in Toronto remind me of summers in NYC and yes New Haven which despite being a small town had it's own share of concerts.

The other part of summer I like? Eating BBQ'ed food from the grill in the backyard and relaxing on the deck.

Welcome to the Fall club! ;) And yes, a sunset is beautiful, but its beauty tugs at my heart and makes me sad...i guess it's because I know that darkness is to follow.

You know, I was asking the kids what they liked best about summer, and apart from not having school to go to, swimming in the pool, chugging back lemonade, they also brought up the point you made about the nice summer barbeques. I hope you will share some nice marinades with us...

Summer is a beautiful time. Here in Utah it gets so HOT, but it's still fun.I love the smell of the barbecue grill. Nothing like it. I really like it when it wafts in from a neighbor's yard.

Summer is definitely pedicure season and I love to get my toes done.

I love it that my daughter is home and she and I can do fun things together.

The concerts you speak of sound so wonderful. There are a few festivals that come up in the summertime in Utah. Sometimes we go to them. Sometimes we just stay in and make refreshing summertime martinis.

I'm with you, Lotus, I love the long summer days. The smell of BBQing, the birds twittering, and most of all gardening! And believe it or not, I like it that I get to wear less clothing ;) Shorts, tee-shirt, sandals, thank you! And the winter coat and bluky sweaters can all go into storage.

@Lisa ~ Awww, what a sweet thing to say Lisa, thanks! And yes, I adore Lila Downs and after seeing her on stage I love her even more...she's got so much energy she just lights up the entire stage. Look forward to visiting you tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by. I just updated a couple of minutes ago. I'm not sure of what type of French music you're looking for. I don't know if it's pop or rap or rock or classic (aka Edith Piaf).

Two artists I really like are a little bit different. Well I"m different! "Le Grand Corps Malade." He is a slammer. Meaning he does french poetry to a set rhythm with music. It is awesome! He is extremely popular in France.

His most popular piece is "Ma tete, Mon Coeur..." It is on the adult side due to its content...but that's what made him extremely popular. My favorite is "Les Voyage En Train" It is another piece and it is set to music like most of his pieces. It's a tale on love but he uses train voyages as a metaphor. It's awesome! "Le Jour se Leve" (The day wakes itself) is also good.

Another french musician is "Olivia Ruiz" who is more on the alternative pop side. The legendary rapper "MC Solaar" is a rapper from Senegal is huge in France, My favorite song of his is from the early 90s called Caroline which is a sad love song.

"Lorie" is another good one. She mixes pop and Zouk. "Les Nubiennes" mix jazz, soul, and african rhythms.

If you buy the cds you can get the lyrics on the cds and try to read them or translate them. Good Exercise! But you can also find the translations online too!Check out www.musiqueplus.com which specializes on french music. another site is http://fr.launch.yahoo.com/This site: http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/musique/francophone.php is good to for french music. Whenever there's a link to just play videos or music randomly just let it play to see what comes up. They play nonstop videos so you can see the different ones out there.

I knew I was asking the right person! Thanks a bunch for all the info..I am going to check them (the singers) out and I have a feeling I am going to enjoy Olivia Ruiz and Lorie...can't wait to find their music online!

Thank you also for the links to French Radio...those are very helpful in finding more French singers. And yes, I can't wait to do the music exercise you recommended. I have the song picked already, I just have to make sure there are lyrics available online.